My wife and I just booked our tickets for Italy last nite for our 20 year anniversary. Trip of a lifetime for us at least so far

So my kit/backpack will be 7D / 10-22 / 24-105L and maybe a to be obtained fast prime.

Two real questions remain for me:

1. How many cards/batteries should I take? Will be a 9 day 3 city trip and I shoot raw so big files.

2. I have a 50mm 1.4 but think I will replace it with something wider for low light indoor shots and light video use. I have my eye on either a Sigma 1.8 20mm or 24mm. Do you think this is a good/bad idea or will my 50mm be fine?

If you're bringing a laptop, then you can probably keep it down to 2 cards (1 as a backup). I'd say you'd probably want at least 16gb cards depending on how much you shoot.

If you're not bringing a laptop, you'll want to bring enough cards to fit the pics you'll shoot. I know I have trouble shooting more than 250 shots a day, so I can plan around that. I don't know what that number is for you. Backing up your photos may be a challenge in that situation, but if you spread your days out over cards, then the odds of losing data go down.

Anyway, storage is cheap (relatively), so can't hurt to have too much.

I'd probably bring at least 3 batteries if it were me.

50mm is a little long on a crop body, you may want something a little wider. I don't have experience with those sigma's though.

1. How many cards/batteries should I take? Will be a 9 day 3 city trip and I shoot raw so big files.
About 32gb of storage is the max I would take for a 2-4 week trip. That is plenty of photos for pretty much any trip. Anything more , and it ends up being clutter.

2. I have a 50mm 1.4 but think I will replace it with something wider for low light indoor shots and light video use. I have my eye on either a Sigma 1.8 20mm or 24mm. Do you think this is a good/bad idea or will my 50mm be fine?

What are you going to use the prime for? Between 10-22 & 24-105, you have a ton of versatility so that should not be an issue. For Indoor architecture shots etc, you should consider taking a small tripod. For portraits, your 50 will do just fine. If you are not going to use your zooms for walk around then you may consider getting a 35f2 or 30 1.4.

one thing I noticed (and I asked a similiar question) is that many people do not see the need for a low light lens, well I find myself in so many situations in which a 10-22 or 24-105 would be useless (even with a tripod) when traveling, do NOT leave the 50 behind, you will miss it

thedutt wrote:
About 32gb of storage is the max I would take for a 2-4 week trip. That is plenty of photos for pretty much any trip. Anything more , and it ends up being clutter.
Hmmm. 32gb may well be plenty for you. But shooting raw, I can easily go through 32gb worth of memory in less than a week.

I don't want to dictate to another photographer what their shooting tendencies should be and thus how much memory they should have. But, I will say that the cost of buying extra memory cards is insignficant compared to the opportunity cost of going on vacation. So when in doubt I would always advise on taking lots of memory, and shooting liberally to your heart's content. Because it's always better to be deleting photos while browsing through them on your computer at home rather than in your hotel room halfway through your trip

We just made this trip, all with a 7D and 17-55. From that experience, I'd suggest bringing lots of cards. It's beautiful.

I really wish I had a 10-22, which I think you will use extensively. If I were to do it again, I'd also consider the 11-16 2.8 Tokina. Having a wide prime, as you're planning to get, is a great idea and I would err on the WIDE side.

lhryshko wrote:
We just made this trip, all with a 7D and 17-55. From that experience, I'd suggest bringing lots of cards. It's beautiful.

I really wish I had a 10-22, which I think you will use extensively. If I were to do it again, I'd also consider the 11-16 2.8 Tokina. Having a wide prime, as you're planning to get, is a great idea and I would err on the WIDE side.

Last regret for me was not having a monopod or tripod. Big mistake.

Have a great trip!

I keep thinking I can make due without the tripod but I should bring the monopod. I'm sure you are right and I would regret not having it.

Once in a lifetime trip...bring a device to backup your cards. Anything can happen and the last thing you want to happen is coming home without those wonderful images. Laptop or a portable backup device is a must for at the very least a piece of mind.

Storage space requirements will vary widely among people and you have to answer that question yourself , I am afraid. I would bring a charger, if I were you. It is fairly small and light. You may want to use the playback feature of that camera and that can use quite a bit of battery power. A small/table top tripod or clamp on tripod-like device may come in handy. Generally, it would work out better than a monopod, IMHO.